July 28, 2009

Tutorial: Create Your Own Photoshop Frame & Text Overlays

Last week I posted another riveting installment of "This Day in Zielske History," and one reader asked, "Hey Cathy, could you show us how you make those overlays? And I say, blog reader, yes!

Here's a video tutorial using Photoshop CS3, and below you'll find a printable PDF with the corresponding step-by-step instructions. For those of you using Photoshop Elements, you should be able to achieve the same results. There's nothing in CS3 on this particular tutorial that you can't replicate in PSE.

You are really awesome! I've spent hundreds on scrapbooking digi classes to learn how to scrap digi and techniques to use. BUT, it's the simple techniques (like you just taught on your blog today) that I'll remember the most! THANK YOU!

Possibly a stupid question follows:
When I am finished creating my masterpiece a la Cathy Z., what is the best way to save? I use Aperture on a Mac. I have been doing a "save as" and keeping it in PSE. I would like to store it in Aperture, if I could. Do I need to compress the layers? Can you feel my frustration? If you could point me in the right direction, I don't mind doing the research. AAAAAAAAAHHH! I just don't know where to start. Will you be my genie and grant me this wish?
Okay, now on to creating a thank you card for my daughter's 6th bday on Sunday! This ties in so nicely with Ali's Tuesday Tutorial!

Thank you for such an awesome tutorial. I'm new to digital and learning so much. I have wondered often how many of these techniques are accomplished and feel when I watch the videos I am being let in on the secret to a magic trick..............Thank You!!! Where can the fonts you used be located? They are very cool. Thanks for the video and look forward to more magic tricks from you!

Hey Cathy! Thanks for the tutorial. This is my newest "thing" on my photos. I have one quick question though. I am really into the rounded corners lately. How do you make that outline with rounded corners? (and it not be all crappy looking and pixelized). It would be greatly appreciated and save me hours of frustration. By the way I use PSE.

Thank you so much for this simple, easy to understand tutorial. I quickly went right to my CS2 and worked on creating my own. It still needs a little work, but I was proud of it! Here's the link: http://amberdawson.blogs.com/snapshots/

Thank you so much (I can't express how thankful I am!) for putting up this great tutorial. You know how sometimes you just see something so cool and think to yourself, "WOW! That is sooo cool. I wish I knew how to do that." and then you walk away and say, well, I don't. WHAT A BUMMER.

Well, no more. Now, I KNOW HOW TO DO THAT! Your video was great. So easy to understand and follow along. I'm going to try this out TODAY.

Thank you Cathy, I have tried to draw a simple square or rectangle in PSE before, and I knew it had something to do with the rectangular marquee, but then I was stuck. It's simple little things like this that make such a difference and now I can use that skill for so many things. Thanks again!

Cathy,
Love your blog. I just bought the Photoshop CS3 I'm excited to try it out & start my 1st layout. My question is where do you print your photos - would it be from home or you have it sent out. I was looking into buying a printer, but I'm not sure which to buy. What would you recommend. I

I make my rounded corner box to size (or bigger) in InDesign, export it as an EPS file and then open it in Photoshop. Then you select just the outline of the box and copy/paste it onto a new layer over your photo in Photoshop. Since it's on its own layer, you can move it around, change the color, delete a part of it, whatever. If you generally use 4x6 photos, make yourself a template to use over and over again. Do it when you first open the exported file in PhotoShop. If you don't have InDesign, you can also create it in Illustrator or Freehand and then export to Photoshop. Make sense?

I also use the same basic plan for placing type on top of a photo. The text controls are so much nicer in InDesign, so I'll set all my type, export to PS and bring it in on top of my photo. Flatten layers, save as jpeg and upload to Shutterfly for prints. Love it.

THANK YOU!! I have been trying to learn this technique for YEARS (okay maybe 1 year) and I have finally learned how to do this from you! You are GREAT!! I made an overlay in about 10 minutes and I am so happy. This will definitely be used way to much in the near future.

Cathy, I loved your tutorial! I'm new to digital scrapbooking. I've taken classes but they didn't dent my brain. I need easy, simple. Would you consider doing a class on BPS which involves taking those pictures in your folder and the digital kit(s) you want to use and showing the steps you go through to make them into a page?! That includes any PS techniques that would help the pictures on the page. Thanks!

Thank you so much for posting the tutorial. I have owned Photoshop Elements for well as long as I have had a Mac which has been since 2000. I never could figure anything out on there. My boys both want me to get CS4 (they use CS2 in school) but I can't rationalize that until I learn how to use Elements. I followed your tutorial and all I can say is "WOW" . I made a cute little frame and can't wait to try other things in Elements. If you are looking for blog post ideas more Photoshop tutorials would certainly be appreciated. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome skills with us.

Thanks so much Cathy, I love it and seriously much easier than I thought (or maybe it was the way you explainedit !) What I particularly like is that it makes my less-than-stellar everyday photos look much sharper. Thanks again.

Hey Cathy Z!
Thank you so much for the tutorial. I read your blog when you put up the first Day in Zielske history - (Cole & the chicken) and thought the overlay was fantastic then. Imagine my delight when I see that you're gonna do a tutorial! Wow!

I just bought PSE7, and have been struggling to find my way around it. Between you and Jessica Sprague, my prayers are being answered!

I love the overlay. And I can't believe I learned how, via a video from a lady in faraway Minnesota! Isn't technology wonderful?

Thank you for the wonderful tutorial. I was going to try to figure out how to make an overlay by myself but I don't think I would have thought of the grid which is very helpful. I also loved the tips for resizing the font and spacing. And the removal of the border out of the "f". BTW -- I love your blog fillers!

Cathy, I swear you must have been reading my incredibly confused mind these past few days! I've been frantically searching for tutorials on how to do this exact thing! OMG! Thank you soooooooo much! It worked perfectly, well, i had to search for the grid changing step but besides that PERFECT! Thank you again!! LOVES!!!!
-jen s.

Cathy this tutorial is awesome! Same goes for the one you did on Ali's blog. i too would love to see a class at BPS on using Photoshop. I have a related question because I'm a technologically challenged. i wish i could morph into one of you girls that know so much. Anyway, I am doing the little month scrapbook from March 2008. You provided a 4 photo mini layout grid for that album but I can't figure out how to import more than one photo into the grid since it is not set up as layers. I told you I'm a complete dummy when it comes to this. Could you let me know how to do that? I would be eternally grateful! I love your sense of humor! That "Tom Cruise" video was hilarious!!!!! So were the Ali outtakes. Thanks so much for your tutorials, they are lifesavers!

Thanks so much for this Cathy -love learning how to make the most of PSE etc.... there is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to learn about these amazing packages and it's funny to realise a lot of it really is simple :)

Cathy, thank you so much for this great tutorial. I have never done anything in Photoshop, and only have a very old version of Elements, but with your excellent instructions and video, I was able to create the overlay. I've always wanted to add text to my photos, but never thought I'd be able to figure it out. You made it so simple, I can't wait to play around with it some more! Thank you again!

Too funny Cathy. . . I spent 2 hours last night trying to figure out how to do just this thing with photos I have taken for VBS. Now I can do it the right way. As always, I greatly appreciate your sharing your knowledge.

Okay, Clare... that is one layer with four "windows" showing the checkerboard background. You can copy and paste photos, (crop them to small squares first) then paste them in. They'll past onto their own layers, and then you just make sure the photo layers are BEHIND the white windows layer. I know it's a little weird, but it'll work.

Nowadays, i would just mask the images in black squares. Always something new to learn.

This was so great Cathy. I once upon a time worked in Photoshop and Quark (that shows you how far back) every day. I have since apparently purged all my skills other than using PW actions and TW hints and tips on photos. Thanks for reminding me how to do this stuff with that excellent tutorial.

I'd love to see more! Btw, have any idea what I might have accidentally turned on in PS that makes a file not actually open on the canvas? If I look in layers etc. I can see the photo, but I can't actually "SEE" the photo to work on it. In other words, the file opens, but the image doesn't come up to work on. I must have done something...but for the life of me I can figure out what. Thanks in advance if you have any clue what I'm talking about :).

Thanks so much Cathy! You are an inspiration. The video tutes are so much easier to follow than text.

Has the rounded corners issue been sorted?
In PSE7 on a pc - use the rectangular marquee tool to draw your shape.
Go to Select>Modify>Smooth, then enter...how about 50 pxls... to try it out.
This will round the corners.
To make it a bit less jaggedy, go to Select>Feather and type in 2 pxls.
When you stroke the resulting selection it seems to take on the feathering - play with it and adjust as desired.
Cheers!

Just brilliant! Thank-you so much! Like others, I have long wanted to do this and not known how. I did it from the pdf. and your instructions were mega clear. This is what I love about the way you teach - you assume nothing and record all your steps. Can I also make a plea for a class at BPS (or on your own CZDesigns site!) with an added and optional bit in for those of us who bought InDesign because it was in with Photoshop, are not professional designers, but would love to learn how to use it for scrapbooking? I do have a manual but boy, do you have to hunt for what you need in lots of different places in it! This way, you could meet the needs of those who use Photoshop, and those of us who'd also like to learn from you how to use Indesign. No-one else is doing this so you would have a total niche market!

Oh CAthy thanks so much for listening to us when we ask for something. I wasn't sure I should ask you how you did it but I'm glad I did now. You rock!!! Can't wait 'til the gandkids go home so I can try this. (sound mean doesn't it?).
Love ya
Christina from Australia
PS can't wait to start writing about ME!!!!

Thank you so much for this easy-to-understand tutorial. You are not only so talented as a graphic designer, but your ability to explain your process in a simple way is truly a gift! Thank you for sharing! I can say I learned something new today! One more reason to avoid housework! Yay!

Thanks so much Cathy! I never would have thought to copy and paste I thought the program was too sophisticated for such an elemetary approach. Sometimes I make things more complicated than i should. I really, really appreciate your reply. You are awesome. I really do hope you offer a photoshop class because your video tutorials are so easy to understand. I love my little album it is so cute!